The musings of a Canadian studying the American Civil War, and other historical topics.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Lincoln in Canada

A little known fact is that Abraham Lincoln visited Canada twice in his life. In 1848, he visited Detroit and crossed over to Canada West (modern Ontario) for undisclosed reasons. In 1857, he and Mary visited Niagara Falls for part-vacation and part-work. Exactly what he thought of the British colonies to the north is unknown.

Jefferson Davis also visited Canada upon his release from Federal prison in mid 1867. His family had been living there during that time, so he went north to visit them. He arrived in late June of that year, just in time to see Canada's Confederation start on July 1. It was as close as he would ever get to seeing his independent Confederacy, albeit without slavery.